1. Field
The present application relates generally to thermoelectric cooling, heating, and power generation systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the automotive as well as other applications, it can be important that the voltage of a device providing power be at a certain level. In the automotive case, nominal voltage should be 14V. A cylindrical thermoelectric power generator (TEG) has been developed that takes advantage of the hoop stress of a thermally expanding cylinder inside of a ring shunt in order to improve thermal contact. (For example, see U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0067742 A1, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.) To best take advantage of the hoop stress, the ring is a solid or split ring. In order to accommodate large mass flows and keep pressure drop at a minimum, diameters of the cylindrical TEG are relatively large which results in many parallel connections of the thermoelectric couples.